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Thursday, May 16, 2002

Here is an example letter we sent to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles regarding Napolean Beazley. Feel free to use this as a template for your own letters.May 16, 2002Chairman Gerald GarrettTexas Board of Pardons and ParolesP.O. Box 13401, Capitol StationAustin, Texas 78711RE: Clemency for Napoleon BeazleyDear Chairman Garrett:I am writing on behalf of Texas Moratorium Network to appeal for clemencyfor Napoleon Beazley on two major grounds - his status as a juvenileoffender at the time of his offense and the racial aspects of the case. Wewould like you to recommend to Governor Perry that he commute Napoleon'ssentence to life in prison.Napoleon was only 17 years old at the time of his crime. There is a growingconsensus in Texas that we should stop executing people who commit crimesunder the age of 18. In 2001, the Texas House of Representatives passed abill that would have banned executions of juvenile offenders. The bill didnot reach the Senate in time for it to be considered before the sessionexpired. In 2003, the bill will be filed again and in light of growingopposition among Texas voters to executing juvenile offenders, and the factthat by continuing to execute juvenile offenders the United States standsvirtually alone in the world community, the bill will probably pass nexttime. Please do not allow Napoleon to be one of the last juvenile offendersto be executed before the Texas Legislature bans the practice.Texas Moratorium Network is also concerned about the racial aspects of thiscase. Napoleon is an African-American who was sentenced to death by anall-white jury for the murder of a white person. Potential black jurors weresystematically kept off Napoleon's jury. Maryland recently enacted amoratorium on executions in order to complete a study on the issue of raceand the death penalty. Texas also needs to stop executions in cases whererace has played an important factor in determining whether a defendantreceives the death penalty. We need to make sure that defendants are judgedby the relevant facts of their cases and not by the color of their skin.Texas Moratorium Network, an organization with a growing support base ofmore than 6,000 people across the state of Texas, is working to establish amoratorium on executions, so that a Texas Capital Punishment Commission canconduct a comprehensive study of the death penalty system in our state.Thank you for your consideration,Sincerely,Scott CobbTexas Moratorium Network